This recipe gives you lickety-split brownies with a bowl you will definitely want to lickety-lick. Lots of melted chocolate, plus cocoa and pecans—what could be bad here? Just don’t overbake! Fudgy is the goal.
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, plus more for buttering the pan
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1½ cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder, dissolved in 2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 eggs
¾ cup all-purpose flour
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
⅛ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup chopped toasted pecans
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan and set aside. Combine the butter and 1½ cups of the chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave until smooth; 1½ to 2 minutes; cool for 5 minutes.
Whisk in the sugar, then the vanilla, espresso, salt, and eggs until smooth. Combine the flour, cocoa, and baking powder in a small bowl, then whisk into the batter until smooth.
Stir in the pecans and the remaining ½ cup chocolate chips until just combined. Transfer the batter to the buttered baking pan, smooth the top to even it out, and bake until the brownies have hardened on the top and are just set, 22 to 24 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool completely, and dust with confectioners sugar. Cut into 16 squares.